How to create a beautiful Bokeh effect.
Here is how you can create a Bokeh effect.
1. A large aperture works best, so use a low f-number like f1.4, f1.8 or f2.8
2. The best lens to use is Canon 50mm f/1.8, creating a soft beautiful Bokeh light in the background.
3. Experimenting with the focus - being CLOSE to the subject and FURTHER away from the background (lights) was the most effective way to create a Bokeh effect.
4. The obvious - LIGHT in the background! It can't be a consistent kind of background, there has to be some form of lights in the background. I discovered that plain yellow / white fairy lights and used them for a prettier background. Also, standard Christmas lights work well.
5. Remember, that the shutter speed must be faster than 1/60, otherwise the Bokeh won't turn out well. Testing indoors, with a Canon speedlite flash and still using a fast shutter speed to create an excellent Bokeh effect.
Over at the photography enthusiast blog DIYPhotography.net, an interesting DIY project outlined in simple steps can create custom shapes for the highlights in your bokeh. By creating a combination lens hood and cap out of black card stock and then cutting out the shape of the desired highlights, novel shapes can be created in the final photograph.
In the photograph on the left hand side, the author of the tutorial photographed the same scene with and without the heart shaped filter pictured at right. In the photo at right, Flick user trazomfreak, used the same technique to create snowflakes. If you'd like to see more interesting examples of custom bokeh in action check out the follow up to the tutorial with user-submitted samples. One thing to note is that the wider you can set your aperture, the more intense bokeh effect you can achieve. If you don't have a lens capable of some of the wider aperture settings, like f/1.8, don't despair. We've previously discussed how to use pre-digital camera lenses on modern DSLR bodies, so picking up an old 50mm F/1.8 lens on eBay or at your local used goods shop is easy and great for this sort of experimenting. For more details on construction methods and tips, check out the full tutorial below. Click here to see how to create a beautiful bokeh |